Judicial Corruption as a Violation of Human Rights in Myanmar

Abstract

Corruption is a global problem which occurs in every society and its causes, forms and impacts are diverse and multi-faceted. The government, its officials and agents including all individuals are accountable under the law. Although the Myanmar government has acknowledged and tried to build a just and fair government, many people in Myanmar have experienced an incident of bribery or other form of corruption in the judicial sector. Justice should be administered by a competent, impartial and independent judicial institutions. Corruption is not an isolated crime. In the judicial sector, the corrupt conduct of all judicial actors has directly damaged the consequences on the functions of judicial institution. It decreases public trust in justice and affects judicial systems to guarantee the protection of human rights. Society accepts that when there is corruption, human rights disappear.  Violated rights vary from one another by a different way of corrupt conduct. Common violated rights include equality before the law and fair trial rights, especially, judicial independence and impartiality. To prevent corruption in every sector including the judicial sector, the government of Myanmar is taking action upon the corruption not only by Anti-Corruption Law but also other related laws. However, some of these cases can be taken action and judicial corruption still exists in the country. Therefore, it is important to identify the impact and consequences of judicial corruption. The purpose of the paper is seeking to contribute to strengthening the judicial system as well as ensure an adequate accountability mechanism.